


I get to love you

by Neuqe



Category: Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare, Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: 5+1 Things, M/M, Prompt Fic, based vaguely on a song, pure fluff, snapshots of their life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-29
Updated: 2016-08-29
Packaged: 2018-08-11 20:05:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7905859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neuqe/pseuds/Neuqe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>5 times Magnus realises how much he loves Alec and 1 time Alec realises how much he loves Magnus</p>
            </blockquote>





	I get to love you

__

**1.**

The first time Magnus realised he loves Alec was during their third date.

They were in a smallish but beautiful, hole-in-a-wall, Nepalese restaurant that Alec had discovered a few weeks ago after a hunt.

Few days ago, after an excessive amount of stuttering and blushing, Alec had proceed to suggest this restaurant as the place of their third date.

Magnus had instantly said yes. He would have said yes to almost anything Alec would have suggested, which terrified him more than he liked to admit.

This was the first time Alec had initiated their date, which was another reason he had agreed on the spot for this date.

He was perfectly aware that all of this was still new and terrifying for Alec, more so than to him, and he wanted to take things as slow as Alec required. The last thing he wanted to do was to make him uncomfortable with all of his enthusiasm and way too quickly developing feelings. He feared he would scare him off with too much intensity too rapidly.

Therefore, when Alec asked him out for their third date, he beamed with happiness. He felt he could explode from raw happiness.

Now that they were on the date, Magnus was still in awe of how happy he was. It had been a long time since he had felt this kind of all-consuming happiness because of another person. He felt as if he could not stop smiling. Not now and not in a long time.

Their table was in a peaceful corner of the restaurant and it was as if no one else existed except them in their small bubble.

“Is yours good?” Alec asked and nodded towards his plate that contained rice and lamb sauce.  

Alec kept fidgeting with his fork and there was a hint of uncertainty in his voice, which pained Magnus.

“It’s excellent,” he answered with a bright smile and put another forkful into his mouth.

Alec broke into a small smile and breathed out slightly as if he had been greatly relieved. “Good.”

“It’s a charming place also,” he added.

The colours of the restaurant were mostly deep red and few absurd paintings decorated the walls. Few fairy lights hang from the ceiling. All of this gave the place a rather authentic look.

“I thought you might like it,” Alec admitted almost shyly, but visibly pleased and kept eating his rice portion.

“I do,” he reassured and reached across the table to touch Alec’s hand lightly. That earned him another smile.

The conversation was easy to keep going and the topics ranged from annoying customers Magnus had dealt with earlier this week to absurd experiences with their cats.

Magnus could pinpoint the exact moment when he realised he loved Alec. He had just finished telling amusing but rather traumatic anecdote of Chairman Meow and rubber ducks, which had made Alec snort. That snort, of course, had made Alec almost choke on rice.

After excessive coughing, he was able to breathe somewhat normally. A song with many ukuleles and high pitched voice was playing in the background and Alec’s face was still redder than usually and there were pieces of rice on his chin but he was still grinning like a maniac when he wheezily said, “I’m pretty sure your cat is crazy.”

This was the moment. This was the moment when _I love you_ crossed his mind loud and clear.

It was not a thing to say to your date after you indirectly almost made them to choke to their death with rice and it certainly was not a thing to say on your third date. That much Magnus had learnt during all the centuries he had lived. It would make a great line to a dating guide.

Quite honestly, he was startled as well. The realisation was so sudden but there were no doubts or uncertainty about it.

He had been in love countless times before. He knew what love was, but this feeling was something completely new. He had never felt like this before.

However, the feeling was unmistakably love. It had been years since he had loved anyone but the familiar feeling filled his whole body when he looked at Alec, who was now wiping his face with a red napkin, apparently aware of all the rice on his face.

Yet there was hue of something strange in this familiar feeling. It was strong and intense, consuming and fierce. At the same time, it was calm and affectionate, secure and comforting.

However, he adored the feeling but it also scared the living shit out of him. It had been barely a month of dating. This was their third date and he was already certain he loved Alec. Sure, Alec had kissed him in front of everyone he knew, but still they were, hopefully, in the beginning of their relationship. It had barely begun and it was fast and so sudden. His feelings were going over the allowed speed limits.

He was still looking at Alec, who was still coughing slightly but smiling nevertheless, when another thought crossed his mind. _I get to love him._

He considered it almost as a privilege; to be allowed to love Alec Lightwood.

Even though Magnus considered himself a fabulous person in every meaning of the word, even he knew the bittersweet torture that was called unrequited feelings.

However, this time it was not unrequited. They were dating and he was allowed to love him with all of his heart and soul. Perhaps the speed limit did not exist.

He was certain of his feelings but he did not want to voice them. Not yet. He did not want to put any pressure on Alec to say those three words back or make him feel uncomfortable anyhow. But he could love him without saying it out loud. He was free to do so.

Alec had managed to drunk all the water from his glass but he was still coughing. Magnus pushed his glass across the table. He mumbled a thank you and took a long gulp of water.

“I’m glad you didn’t choke, dear,” Magnus told with amusement and small smile lingered on his lips.

It felt as if he had said _I love you_ anyway.

“Me too,” Alec laughed and took another sip of water, “I’m pretty sure Heimlich manoeuvre doesn’t work that effectively on rice.”

 

 

**2.**

However, the first time he was able to say it aloud did not occur until three months later in a cramped back alley in Brooklyn during the middle of a night.

It was supposed to be one of their date nights but it seemed the whole universe had collectively decided to conspire against them.

Nothing had gone according to the plan.

Alec had been working with some obscure relatives and had stayed at their place in Idris for past two weeks. He was supposed to arrive back to New York on that night.

Magnus loathed being a cliché, but those two weeks felt like a small forever. They definitely deserved their place in the top five longest two weeks of his life.

However, the downhill of their evening started when Alec arrived back to his loft. Alec had not been only considerably late with his arrival but also he was thoroughly exhausted.

He had looked forward this date, but seeing Alec in the state of almost sleeping on his feet made him feel awful. All of the anger of him being late for four hours disappeared into the thin air when Alec wobbled his way through the apartment and slightly slurred the reason why he had been late.

Magnus had immediately suggested a night-in, but Alec insisted sticking to the original plan. He proceeded to drink three cups of coffee and draw a stamina rune on his arm.

Alec seemed more alert after it, but in retrospect; it was a beginning of a disaster.

Rest of their night consisted of getting stuck in a subway cart in-between the stations as a result of technical issues, losing their table reservation, running into Magnus’ ex-girlfriend, eating tacos from a food truck and running into Ravener demons that lead them into the cramped alley that resembled more of a dump.

Despite the serious lack of sleep, Alec managed to take down the three demons with his bow and little help from Magnus.

“I apologize,” Magnus muttered as he watched how Alec collected his arrows back from the street after the demons had disappeared.

“For what?” He asked curiously, as he picked up the last arrow.

“For this whole disastrous date?” Magnus suggested with a shrug.

Alec walked up to him and shook his head. “No. This is the most fun I have had in ages.”

He squinted his eyes and Alec broke into a giant smile.

“You are kidding. All of this was worth of leaving the apartment with the power of three cups of coffee and a stamina rune?”

“Totally worth it,” Alec laughed, “I liked the tacos and Annie seemed like a really nice girl. I even had a chance to do my first hunt in two weeks. What’s not to love?”

Magnus let out a chuckle and Alec smiled genuinely as he kissed his forehead.

“The point is that I had the chance to do all of that with you. That makes it worth it,” Alec told gently but there were raw honesty in his voice.

Before Magnus had the chance to open his mouth, the sky full of dark clouds started to pour rain. This convinced Magnus that it was definitely the whole universe who had been against their date but somehow it seemed quite insignificant after Alec’s words.

Magnus looked back at Alec, who was chortling with laughter and it was contagious enough that Magnus could not help but laugh as well even though he was unaware why Alec was laughing.

“I’m sorry,” Alec wheezed, “it’s just all of this,” he made a vague hand movement that could only refer to the events of the night, “I love you so damn much.”

For a moment, the only sound was the rain. It was intense silence, the kind of silence, which was not easily broken. They stared at each other but neither one of them moved. It was the first time either one of them had said it.  Alec had straightened up and was not laughing anymore. There were almost traces of horror on his face. As if the words had escaped from his mouth involuntarily and as if he wanted to take them back if possible.

The expression on his face created tiny fractures into Magnus’ heart. He had been dying to hear those words from Alec but it brought him no joy as Alec looked as if he had made a grand mistake. He would allow him to take those words back. Of course. No love declaration was supposed to make one feel miserable and uncomfortable. He was frantically trying to come up with something that would allow Alec take back his accidental love declaration and fix the situation.

“It was too early, right?” Alec asked with joyless laugh and grin as he scratched his neck.

Alec’s voice had startled Magnus from his thoughts and it took him awhile to realise what Alec meant.

“Too early?” He echoed with disbelief.

Alec nodded sharply and let out a breath he had been holding. “I mean I’m not an expert with these things, but I’m quite sure you aren’t supposed to say _stuff_ like that this early on, right?”

Magnus could only stare at Alec who was soaking wet by now but continued to be unbothered by the downpour. The way of he formed his explanation into both, a question and a statement, screamed uncertainty but not necessarily regret. Alec had meant it, but was not sure if he was allowed to do so.

“I’m sor-“

“There are not rules for love, though,” Magnus reminded gently as he crossed the distance between them. “There are no schedules, deadlines or order for relationships. They are messy, complicated and each of them is a unique one. If you feel like you are ready to say that, then it’s never too early.”

Alec blinked and for a moment, and there was pure adoration in his eyes. “I love you,” he repeated, slower as if trying out the words, and broke into an enormous smile that could have out shone the sun.

“I love you, too,” Magnus said with an ease.

He did not have to think about it twice before saying it. Not after hearing how Alec repeated those three words to him.

The grin on Alec’s face had apparently turned into semi-permanent, as he seemed physically unable to stop smiling.

“That’s, uh,-“ Alec kept a pause for a moment as he tried to find an appropriate word, “-great.”

Magnus let out a laugh. “It’s great indeed.”

Alec grabbed his coat and pulled him into a kiss. It was not the best kiss in the great history of kisses; it was sloppy from exhaustion and tasted a faint mixture of rain and tacos. However, it was a tender, warm and full of love.

“Perhaps the date wasn’t that much of a disaster after all,” Magnus murmured as their lips departed.

“That’s the spirit,” Alec chuckled.

 

**3.**

By the time they had been dating for a year, it was no longer a statement; it was a fact.

Water expands when heated, The Great Barrier Reef is the largest living structure on Earth and he is in love with Alec. All true facts.

It is, however, by far, his favourite fact to recite. Stating some other facts does not give the same reaction. He _adores_ Alec’s reaction to his love declarations and that is one of the reasons why he keeps telling him those three words so often.

Always, he smiles. There are times when his smile is so blindingly bright that Magnus is convinced he must have swallowed a sun. There are times when his smile is small, almost shy, accompanied with slight blush. There are times when his smile is not a smile, but a brilliant grin. There are times when his smile reaches his eyes and brings warmth and adoration into his eyes. There are times when his smile is radiant, dazzling or vivacious. There are times when his smile lifts up only the other corner of his mouth.

Often, he says it back. Even when in a hurry, he says it. He says it breathily and gruffly. He says it slowly and gently. He whispers and mumbles it. He says it wobbly and loud. He says it affectionately. Every time he says it, he means it.

Sometimes, he kisses him. Softly on his forehead or gently on his cheek. Planting a kiss on his hair or kissing him on the lips. Kiss on his shoulder or on his palm. Sometimes it is quick and plain. Sometimes it is slow and filled with intense emotions.

So far, Magnus has loved each reaction. Alec’s reactions, no matter how small, fill him with absolute delight because he loves how happy he can make him with such a simple action.

The other reason why he keeps saying it, besides reminding Alec, is that he _loves_ saying it.

Magnus had always been quite open with his affections. He tends to display his emotions in several of ways, but Alec had never been a fan of public displays of affection, especially in the beginning of their relationship. Therefore, he learned to express his emotions more verbally to avoid making situations uncomfortable for Alec. Nowadays, he is more comfortable with displays of affection, whether private or public, but Magnus has not given up on his habit.

He adores the habit of saying this particular fact.  
  
***

“Why do you say it so often?” Alec asked perplexed.

It was late on a Friday night and they were on Magnus’ enormous bed. Alec had decided to say at his place instead of going back to the Institute even though Magnus had had plenty of work to do with a translation of a complex spell and he had only recently collapsed next to Alec on the bed.

Apparently, Alec had stayed awake reading a book, even though the book now laid completely abandoned next to his feet.

“Say what exactly, darling?” Magnus muffled against his fluffy pillow, as he was too exhausted to move an inch.

“That you love me.”

He definitely felt more alert after that. Alec’s voice was not wreathed with upset, it was actually quite plain, almost stripped out of all emotion but it was still raw and vulnerable.

Magnus thought this was the sort of discussion every couple needed to have when both of them were completely awake, and preferably not facing a pillow instead of their partner.

He dragged himself into a half sitting position and closer to Alec.

Magnus was not sure what he was supposed to say, as he had no clue what had prompted Alec’s original question.

“Why do you ask?” His voice was filled with kindness.

“Because you say it a lot,” Alec answered matter-of-factly.

The warlock suppressed a small sigh as their conversation was going around in circles. However, before he had a chance to say anything Alec had continued speaking.

“I mean,” he started slowly, “don’t you ever fear it loses its meaning? If it is the same phenomena as repeatedly saying a word and then the word just starts sounding odd and funny to you and you are not even certain if it is a _word_ because it has lost all of its meaning to you.”

Magnus reached and took Alec’s hand into his. “No, I don’t believe that phenomena will occur,” he said softly.

Alec finally looked at him instead of the duvet. “How can you be so sure?”

“Because,” he started, “there’s a valid reason every time I say it. I admit that it comes naturally by now but I still mean it as much as the first time I said it. I’m not keeping a count how many times I say it nor do I plan it in advance. I say it when the thought crosses my mind or when I feel like it. Sometimes I say it because I can say it but there’s still the profound meaning every time. Besides, love is an infinite resource; it won’t disappear no matter how many times I say it.”

Alec was quiet for a moment. “I guess that makes sense.”

Magnus traced his fingers gently along one of Alec’s runes on the back of his hand.

“Do you feel like it’s losing its meaning, dear?”

Alec took a deep, slightly shaky, breath. “No, not really.”

“Good,” he whispered, “but if you feel uncomfortable, I can say it less. I won’t mind.”

“No,” Alec said almost immediately, “you don’t have to do that. I want you to say it.”

Magnus laughed softly. “That’s not a hard request to fulfil.”

Few moments passed in silence, but Magnus could not resist himself from asking the question that was bothering him.

“May I ask what made you even think about it?” He tried his best not to sound accusing because that was not his intention at all.

Alec groaned slightly. “It’s stupid, really. I overheard my mother and her friend talking about my parents’ divorce few days ago in the Institute. My mom said that she thinks the reason why they divorced is the fact that they used up they love and ran out of it because they took everything for granted. I don’t know if she’s right or not but ever since the idea of it has been bothering me because I don’t want us to end up like that.”

“We don’t have to end up like that, dear“ he reassured, “ all relationships require work, but I think we have done quite extraordinary job so far, don’t you think?”

A faint smile crossed Alec’s lips. “Yeah, we have,” he agreed.

“Go us,” Magnus cheered and shook his fist in triumph.

Alec snorted and let out a small chuckle.

Magnus collapsed back to the bed and dragged Alec with him. He adjusted their position more comfortable and eventually pulled the duvet over them. They laid there, limbs tangled, for a moment before Magnus spoke again.

“I have never took any of this granted,” he added, “I still get these irrational moments where I cannot believe my luck and these waves of pure happiness when I realise I get to love you,” he admitted quietly. He was not quite sure if Alec was even awake anymore.

Alec’s breath became slight uneven, and Magnus could feel how Alec was softly pressing kisses to his jawline. “The feeling is mutual.”

**4.**

“Why do you use extra glamour?” Alec slurred.  

Magnus had honestly thought Alec was already fast asleep next to him and he was a little taken aback by the sudden question.

“Because I’m a glamorous person, darling,” Magnus answered with a hum and continued reading his book.

Alec poked him on the arm. “That’s not what I meant,” he mumbled half against the pillow.

Magnus put the book down and looked at Alec, who definitely was on the verge of falling asleep and possibly not filtering anything he said.

“Then what did you mean?”

Alec yawned and kept his eyes closed. “Your eyes--you use glamour on them.”

Magnus chuckled. “Yes, mundanes are scared of everything that is not similar to them. I don’t think most of them would appreciate seeing the true form of my eyes.”

“Yeah, I know that,” Alec said as if Magnus was missing the obvious point, “but you put additional glamour on them, even when you are not around mundanes. Like today at the Institute, you kept the glamour and it was strong. Even I couldn’t see through it,” Alec had half opened his eyes.

“I suppose it is a habit,” Magnus answered with a shrug.

He could explain how it was a protective instinct as hiding one’s mark usually made even the worst Nephilim treat one with a slight more respect but he did not have the heart to start telling this to Alec who was almost asleep or possibly sleep talking.

“I like your eyes,” Alec simply stated, “with or without the glamour, but especially without.”

“Thank you, darling.”

Alec curled up almost instinctively closer to him and Magnus’ heart nearly melted by the sudden realisation how much he loved Alec.

Alec’s love for him seemed so unconditional that he could not always believe it. He loved him because of who he was. That simple. There were no ulterior motives nor did he love him any less because of something he was.

He did not always feel worthy of such love but it aspired him to be better and try harder.

He had always thought that changing oneself because of love was foolish, but perhaps it was not that foolish when the love changed one into a better version of oneself.

5.

There was one thing Magnus loathed more than anything and those were spontaneous emergency calls for the High Warlock of Brooklyn.  

The situations usually were extremely stressful, time consuming and potentially safety hazards. The emergencies were the most bizarre things he had to deal with and the greatest source of his headaches.

Today had been no different. At 5 in the morning, he had been called to solve the case of a purple werewolf. Somehow, a young werewolf had gotten into a bar fight with a wasted warlock who had casted a spell to change the werewolf’s fur into purple. The drunken warlock had not been able to reverse the spell even when a whole pack of werewolf’s had been threatening him. Naturally, their second choice had been Magnus.

He had almost let them know in a very polite manner that purple fur did not count as an emergency, they could wait until the morning, and that purple was slowly making its comeback to fashion. However, Luke had been the one to call him and he could not decline his request.

This appointment had taken 10 hours because drunk spells are extremely challenging to reverse as no one remembers how or what spell was casted. He might have accidently mixed few of the spells and turned the fur’s colour into green instead, it was hardly his fault, which prolonged the appointment with a few hours.

Magnus’ only source of entertainment during the whole day were Alec’s angry and frustrated text messages about the remodelling of their cupboards as he could not find any of the things he needed without consultation from Magnus who was also unfortunately perfectly unaware how the remodelling had actually changed the location of blankets and plates.

When he eventually arrived back to the loft, he could let himself relax and happiness took over his whole body. It was a common occurrence nowadays, the unbelievably strong happiness that washed over him every time he arrived back to home.

He had always loved his loft apartment, his home, but now he had also a _family_ to come back to.

He wandered around the loft for a couple minutes before discovering Alec lying on the marble floor with a pathetic looking pillow under his head. Both, Max and Rafael, were cuddling Alec, their heads resting against his torso, under a blue blanket. Both of them were asleep and Alec’s right hand rested gently on top of the children in a protective manner.

Magnus broke into an enormous and radiant smile. In moments like these, he could not believe how he had ended up so lucky. He had a small, perfect, own family that he got to love. Loving them, in his opinion, was the best thing he would ever do.

“Hey,” he whispered as he sat down with grace.

“Help, our children think I’m a pillow instead of their dad,” Alec whispered back, but could not fight off the smile that was forming on his lips.

“Cannot blame them, you do make an excellent pillow,” Magnus commented, which earned him an eye roll, and he started to play with a strand of Alec’s hair.

“Why are you on the floor in the first place, dear?”

Alec let out a long sigh. “It’s a rather long story.”

“Does it also include why the kitchen looks like a war zone?” Magnus’ voice was full of amusement.

“The kitchen looks like a war zone because there was a _war_ ,” Alec deadpanned,” It included food and it was horrific. There’s a stain of beetroot on the ceiling. Rafe has a killer aim with a fork and Max is slowly learning how to levitate glass jars.”

Magnus chuckled softly. “Sounds terrific. You have crayon on your face,” he pointed out and traced his finger along the small line on his cheek.

Alec stared at the ceiling. “That,” he said, “is an entirely real possibility.”

“It’s orange,” he added with a laugh. “How did you even manage make them to take a nap?”

“I read them a story. Or eight.” Alec admitted and, with his free hand, he pointed at the thick book that was laying nearby.

“Is it full of stories that are traumatizing and teach a lesson about all honourable shadowhunter things?” He joked, but there was an entirely valid reason why Jace was banned from storytelling to infants.

Alec punched him playfully on the leg. “No, it’s some mundane book. Clary gave it to me yesterday. She and Simon apparently used to love it as children and she wanted to give it to Max and Rafe. They did like the stories, too.”

Magnus picked up the book and flipped through the pages.

“Is it safe to assume you had a rough day?” He asked gently as he put the book down.

Alec looked back at the two children with adoration and love as if the whole world was on his arms. “Yeah, but I loved every second of it.”

“Of course,” Magnus whispered.

Alec looked back at him. “What about you, Mags? How was your emergency appointment?”

“Frustrating. Nerve wracking. Disastrous.”

“Do you wanna join our self-made bed? It is a completely stress-free zone as long as everyone is still asleep and there’s still space,” Alec said and motioned towards his other side.

“That’s a tempting offer,” Magnus mumbled as he laid down on the floor and cuddled closer to Alec.

“I’m quite certain there’s something wet and sticky on your shirt,” Magnus pointed out as he proceed to use Alec’s torso as a pillow, too.

“It’s plum sauce,” Alec mumbled back in somewhat defeated voice, “make a mental note yourself. Max loathes plum sauce and will turn it into a weapon of mass destruction of kitchen walls at any given change and won’t hesitate to use it against his own parents.”

He laughed softly. “Duly noted.”

**+1**

Alec fidgeted with a small silver ring. It was quite thick and time had slightly worn it out. It had a letter L surrounded by flames as a symbol of his family.

Alec had never cared of the family ring that much but right now it felt as if it was the most valuable thing he had ever owned. He knew that more of them existed. His parents had theirs and some of their relatives probably had few of them, too. Some of the shadowhunters were strangely fond of their family rings.

He never had had one before this week when Izzy had given him a one. It was not actually her ring either, she had found it as she and Clary had been cleaning the drawers at the institute, and she had thought he would have had a better use for it.

He had never liked to wear any sort of jewellery, but specifically he had never liked rings. They were inconvenient to wear in battles and slightly disturbed his hold of the bow.

However, he also knew that Izzy had not meant him to wear it.

She had given the ring for him so that he could give it to Magnus if he wanted to do so. She had not said it, but he knew his sister.

It was an ancient shadowhunter tradition to swap the family rings. It did not have the same meaning as an engagement ring as the family ring could be given before engagement. It was more of a promise and held a meaning of importance. It meant that the relationship two people had was a serious one and that they considered each other as a family in any case.

Alec liked the idea. He was not sure why had not thought it himself earlier. Possibly, because the only person who he knew that wore his family ring was Jace and his identity crisis had given him a whole collection of them.

Alec liked the idea of giving his family ring to Magnus. They certainly filled the criteria of the tradition. They were sort-of-to-be-engaged after the simple and unplanned propose over Max’s crib, they had lived together for over eight years and they had two children. It was serious and important already without some ring. But Alec liked the idea of promise.

He liked that the family ring however could be a token of his love for Magnus and a promise that they would continue to love each other through thick and thin.

Earlier, he had feared that the intensity of their feelings would fade away and cease to exist eventually. That had never happened. For sure, they had changed but not for the worse. If possible, his feelings had only deepened and had grown into more profound.

It was somewhat ridiculous how he still occasionally thought how lucky he was just to love Magnus. Just the mere thought of how he gets to love him was enough to start the fireworks of happiness in his chest after all these years.

Generally, he liked the idea of giving the ring to him, and he wanted to, but he was also terrified to do so.

Alec was perfectly aware of how Magnus had plenty of more than unpleasant memories of shadowhunters who had done terrible things. Alec had also learned that Magnus had not been extremely fond of his ancestors back in the day. Maybe Magnus did not even want to receive the whole Lightwood ring. Maybe he would think the tradition as a foolish one.

“I perform miracles,” Magnus declared as he walked into the living room.

Alec hurriedly stuffed the ring back into the pocket of his trousers. It felt as if the ring would have been on fire and burnt his leg.

“Both of them are asleep,” Magnus added as an explanation and slumped next to Alec onto the poison green sofa.

Magnus held his hand up and Alec gave him a high five.

“Amazing, it only took two hours,” Alec said and realised he was not even being sarcastic. He actually considered it as an impressive achievement.

“I’m not sure if we are doing any process with the time, but I am damn proud of my achievements as a parent,” Magnus said with a small grin.

“You should be,” Alec replied, mirroring Magnus’ grin.

Magnus opened the television and they watched a rerun of the _Amazing Race_ in silence until Alec could no longer restrict himself from talking about the ring.

“There’s something I want to give to you,” he blurted out suddenly.

Magnus still slouched on the corner of the sofa, but turned his head to look at Alec instead of the television. “I’m intrigued.”

Alec pulled out the ring from his pocket and placed it gently on Magnus’ palm.

“It’s yours if you want it,” he added and mentally kicked himself for such a smooth start.

The distraught expression on Magnus’ face gave it away that he recognised the ring.

“It’s an old tradition, aren’t all traditions old, anyway, to give the family ring to someone you love. It’s supposed to symbolise promise of love and family,” Alec continued with a slightly nervous tone.

Magnus still remained silent and kept his gaze on the ring.

“I can perfectly understand if you don’t want to take it. I won’t mind. I just wanted to offer it to you as you are the only person I can imagine giving it to,” Alec took a deep breath but felt a wave of confidence washing over him, “you are my family and whether you want to have it or not won’t make it any less official.”

“No, it would mean a lot to me if you want me to take it,” Magnus’ voice was hoarse with emotion.

“Yeah, I do,” Alec answered with a radiant grin.

Magnus squeezed the ring into his palm and gazed back at Alec with a bright smile.

“Aren’t we doing all of this in a wrong order, darling?” Magnus joked with a genuine laugh.

“Somebody once told me that there are not rules for love, no schedules, no deadlines or order for relationships. They are messy, complicated and each of them is a unique one,” Alec told gently, “and I do like our version a lot.”

Magnus’ face broke into an enormous grin. “Wise words, wise words.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally a prompt "Malec+ 'I get to love you' by Ruelle. This lovely prompt was given by my awesome friend. It ended up being quite loosely based on it.  
> It was a permanent resident of my wip folder for months but somehow I managed to write into this mess and basically it was just a shameless excuse to write fluffy one shots about Malec.
> 
> Tumblr: arrows-felicity


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